University of California

It is impossible to talk about the best US universities without mentioning the university system of California. Some of the campuses are the best in the world including Berkeley and UCLA. In fact, there are ten campuses located all around the state of California, offering beautiful and scenic locations and great city settings. Every campus is located in a different area, so they have drastically different identities, for instance UCLA as the Los Angeles campus has the most spirited and highly urban feel while UC Santa Barbara is located on a beach and can be described as a chill laid back beach resort.

But these descriptions hide behind them a profound academic rigour, indeed it is estimated that there are five inventions a day on University of California campuses and laboratories. Students can work and participate in this groundbreaking work through part-time jobs, internships or collaborations with their professors. The world that is opened to University students is wide and diverse in terms of academic experiences. Certain campuses like Berkeley are famous for their innovative political theory, advocacy and work that is done there in terms of promoting new thinking. Many of the famous intellectual debates occurring today found their way out of UC campuses, the most famous one being intersectionality.

University of California also has a very intimate relationship with the Silicon Valley and the industrial innovation that occurs there. An example of this is that Apple, the ubiquitous tech company was co-founded by a University of California student, Steve Wozniak. Thus, it is not a surprise that it probably has some of the best computer science and software engineering programs in the world by far. It is also the homeland of startups with hundreds of them popping out of the University system every year.

The classes vary substantially by campus and major yet as expected they differ mostly from campus to campus. UC Berkeley and UCLA as the top schools offer the best name recognition and are deemed as some of the best universities within the US and worldwide. Berkeley is often compared to Harvard or MIT in terms of its academic excellence.

University of California is a place where American dreams come to be made and experienced. The proximity to the Silicon Valley and the hub of America’s economic growth gives infinite business, research and educational opportunities. It is the best school for those who want a leisurely Californian sun but a top notch Ivy League East Coast level education.